Evans man sentenced to 224 years to life in prison for sexually assaulting underage female, exploiting several others he met online

Posted on 06/29/2018

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – An Evans man will spend 224 years to life behind bars for sexually assaulting a Weld County girl and exploiting several other young females from across the country.

Zachary Myers, 24, was arrested in March of 2016 after police found child pornography on his cell phone. Officers also found manipulative conversations between Myers and multiple underage girls from several states.

He had coerced the young females into sending him nude photos of themselves. When they would refuse, Myers would threaten them and threaten to kill himself.

“He has taken her life and taken her innocence,” one of his victims’ mothers said Friday at the sentencing hearing. “He has destroyed every single thing that was innocent about her that she’ll never get back. She struggles every single day to get up and move on from this.”

Before the the judge handed down his sentence, one of Myers’ victim’s asked the him to impose the maximum sentence.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia addressed the court and also asked for the maximum penalty of 224 years to life behind bars.

“As long as technology was to grow and this defendant had access to it, no girl or her family was safe,” Pirraglia said. “He was growing into the monster that he is. This is someone who got pleasure from destruction. He used people like objects and then would just throw them away.”

On multiple occasions during the sentencing hearing Friday, Weld District Court Judge Thomas Quammen, described this case as “unbelievable” and said this was one of the most heinous cases he’s ever heard in his courtroom.

“This is one of the most serious cases that the court has had the displeasure of hearing,” Quammen said. “It doesn’t get much more serious than this.”

Judge Quammen went on to say that because of how the defendant has acted before, during and after his trial, it’s clear to the court that the Myers has neither the inclination or the ability to change.

“What you did to these folks, you gave out more life sentences than this court will ever be able to give,” Quammen told the defendant.

In April, a jury found Myers guilty of:

SEXUAL ASSAULT ON A CHILD (F3)
FALSE IMPRISONMENT (M2)
ASSAULT IN THE THIRD DEGREE (M1)
INTERNET SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
INTERNET SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (F3)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT INTERNET SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F5)
OBSCENITY (F6)
CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (F4)
OBSCENITY (F6)
CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (F3)
CRIMINAL ATTEMPT TO COMMIT SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A CHILD (F4)